Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is the Powerbook G4 for a Photographer

B

bfrazierimages

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 4, 2009
10
0
Greetings All,

I'm a part time Photographer shooting mostly on location. I'm sick an tired
of my Dell and the image quailty does not match that of my 20" Intel Imac at home.

I found the following POWERBOOK G4 17in SCREEN 1.5GHZ 2GB ram 160GB HDD SUPERDRIVE with a 64mb ATI 9700 graphics card for $650.00 and
was considering purchasing for my on location photo shoots and will be tether to my Nikon D700 or......
When I'm in the field I plan to import my images into Lightroom 2.3
and will possibly move to CS3 for minor correction if needed.

Can the 64MB on the video card be upgraded or could this be a huge problem?
Does anyone use the Powerbook in the field if so or if not please express
your thoughts.

FYI......The MB or MBP is not really an option because of the cost.

Thanks in Advance
 
That's kind of big for your needs and old for what they're wanting for it. You may be better off cruising craigslist for an original macbook for the same price, and it would have better specs and be more portable.

Or try to find a 12" powerbook for the ultimate in portability...:D
 
bfrazierimages said:
Greetings All,

I'm a part time Photographer shooting mostly on location. I'm sick an tired
of my Dell and the image quailty does not match that of my 20" Intel Imac at home.

I found the following POWERBOOK G4 17in SCREEN 1.5GHZ 2GB ram 160GB HDD SUPERDRIVE with a 64mb ATI 9700 graphics card for $650.00 and
was considering purchasing for my on location photo shoots and will be tether to my Nikon D700 or......
When I'm in the field I plan to import my images into Lightroom 2.3
and will possibly move to CS3 for minor correction if needed.

Can the 64MB on the video card be upgraded or could this be a huge problem?
Does anyone use the Powerbook in the field if so or if not please express
your thoughts.

FYI......The MB or MBP is not really an option because of the cost.

Thanks in Advance
Click to expand...
I would look into the refurbs or even eBay. $650 is a lot now for a 4 year old computer. I bet you could get a Core Duo for about $700-$800. Look into the Macbooks, they might be a better deal.
 
Thanks All but do you have any recommendations of a minimum
screen size of 15" or better. The 12" and 13" screens are just to
small and the keyboards are too cramped for my fingers
 
My 17" cost $750 and it had the High-Res screen w/2GB RAM and Leopard, so try to get the price down or look for a better one than the 1.5GHz.
 
bfrazierimages said:
Thanks All but do you have any recommendations of a minimum
screen size of 15" or better. The 12" and 13" screens are just to
small and the keyboards are too cramped for my fingers
Click to expand...

The keyboards are all the same size. At that budget, it's likely that size will be the only choice with a decent enough punch. I would refrain from buying anything G4 for your needs. My G5 takes a bit of time handling large photo files as it is, so I imagine a G4 would struggle even more.
 
I would also recommend getting a Core Duo MacBook Pro. I owned one and it was a great machine. I've also seen them for under $1000 and if you could stretch your budget for that you'll be much happier as it is multiple fold faster than the G4.
 
I have a 1.67 15" Powerbook and I wouldn't recommend going with a PPC. Honestly, invest in an intel macbook/pro! Unless of course you don't plan on doing anything intense on it, but i find that running lightroom and CS3 is a chore on my 1.67 machine. From the benchmarks i've seen even a 1.6 Rev A MBA has more power...
 
THANK'S to ALL!!!!

I've decided to pocket my $650.00 and hold out for the
MacBook Pro (duo core). I remember doing the same thing
with my Photography equipment both camera's and Len's and finally
plunked down some serious dough and purchased the the camera I really
wanted which was the Nikon D700 and a few f/2.8 lenes. LOLOL I cried only once but after the tear's dried I was OK. :D

Thanks
 
Good move... Just save up a little more.

Also, CS4 requires an Intel or G5 chip, so if you wanted to upgrade you would need an MBP anyway.

You've got a great camera, so don't bog it down with a slow computer.

What kind of stuff are you shooting tethered? I've considered it but most of my work on location requires quick set ups and moving around locations.
 
rjphoto said:
Good move... Just save up a little more.

Also, CS4 requires an Intel or G5 chip, so if you wanted to upgrade you would need an MBP anyway.

You've got a great camera, so don't bog it down with a slow computer.

What kind of stuff are you shooting tethered? I've considered it but most of my work on location requires quick set ups and moving around locations.
Click to expand...

I've recently begun shooting a summer knitwear line for a Fashion designer and Both the art director and designer prefer to view the images as I shoot but mostly complained about the incorrect color from my crappy Dell screen.
 
rjphoto said:
What about a mid range iMac?

Can the Dell screen be calibrated?
Click to expand...

I have the 20" 2.0 ghz Intel imac at home and LOVE it this is where I
do the Majority of my edit's the Powerbook would be used primarily to
teather to my camera in the field and make basic color adjustments secondly used for web & itunes.

The Funny thing is that today the lady asked if I was still interested when I said No she offered to drop the price to $500. and informed me that she originally gave me the wrong spec's the correct spec's are as followed:

Apple Powerbook G4
- 15" Screen
- 1.67GHz G4 Processor
- 2GB RAM
- 80GB Hard Drive
- Backlit Keyboard
- DVD+-RW "SuperDrive"
- OS X 10.5.6
 
smaller screen and hard drive but a little bit faster processor.
I'd run the price through the price checker first. If it's a good deal give it a try. You should be able to resell it if you don't like it.

When I mentioned an iMac, I forgot you had one.
They make a nice soft case for them you could get...

Have you tethered to the iMac.
 
bfrazierimages said:
I have the 20" 2.0 ghz Intel imac at home and LOVE it this is where I
do the Majority of my edit's the Powerbook would be used primarily to
teather to my camera in the field and make basic color adjustments secondly used for web & itunes.

The Funny thing is that today the lady asked if I was still interested when I said No she offered to drop the price to $500. and informed me that she originally gave me the wrong spec's the correct spec's are as followed:

Apple Powerbook G4
- 15" Screen
- 1.67GHz G4 Processor
- 2GB RAM
- 80GB Hard Drive
- Backlit Keyboard
- DVD+-RW "SuperDrive"
- OS X 10.5.6
Click to expand...

This is the exact same computer I have and I would just tell you to pass. However, it isn't a horrible computer, just really slow. You also have to be aware of the low memory slot failure that plagued the line. Mine had it and everyone else I knew had it as well. Just be careful and check it out before you pull the trigger.
 
The small screen will kill you

As a part-time photographer, a small screen is just too much hassle. You will be either on location or en route and will be working on the notebook more than you probably thought you would...and you will curse the small screen everytime you use lightroom. If money is the issue, go with an older MBP 15" or 17"...it easily has enough horsepower.
 
What software do you use to tether your D700?

I had a little project this week where I could have used a tether set up but ended up doing it the "old fashioned way"... shoot... download... shoot again...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back